Announcement of Sri Lanka Aid Group Meeting on April 28, 1976

°1-t) l eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 BANK NEWS RELEASE APR I L 28, 19 76 SRI LANKA AID GROUP MEETING The following announcement was issued yesterday at the World Bank's European office in Paris. The twelfth meeting of the Sri Lanka Aid Group was held in Paris under the chairmanship of the World Bank. The following countries were represented: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Porgramme and observers from Denmark, India, Italy and Norway • and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also attended • The Sri Lanka delegation was led by Dr. H.A. de S. Gunasekera, Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs. Sri Lanka's delegation reviewed the country's economic perfor- mance in 1975. It drew particular attention to the severe drought from which the country had suffered. As a consequence, production of rice had fallen substantially and the Government had to increase rice imports by 50%. Moreover, Sri Lanka has been unable to increase foreign exchange earnings from cons:derably larger volumes of rubber and coconut exports because of price declines in the international markets. The foreign exchange situation, therefore, continues to be very diff~cult, although it has been eased with the increase in foreign assistance that Sri Lanka received. The delegation explained the measures recently taken by the Government to improve the in- vestment climate and agricultural productivity, and the further actions the Government intends to take this year to promote non-traditional exports and private investment and to expand employment opportunities. The delegation stressed the need for continuing support by the Aid Group for successful • implementation of development policies under the country's difficult cir- cumstances. I ...  -2- The Group expressed its appreciation of the difficult economic situation and concurred with the emphasis the Government ls giving to In- creasing agricultural production and promoting exports. It also stressed • the urgent need for a substantial increase in domestic savings and invest- ment. The members agreed that assistance in the form of quick-disbursing loans with concessionary terms should be continued on a substantial scale. Indications of aid by the Group for 1976 appear to have come close to the high level of commitments in 1975. • - 0 - •